Tom Aikens is a Michelin-starred chef who combines a bad-boy image with the reputation for original, subtle and intense cuisine. He has suffered from administration and closures but continues to win accolades for his cooking.
Tom Aikens began his career at the Mirabelle in Eastbourne before joining the Michelin-starred Cavaliers restaurant in Battersea, London, as a commis chef.
He moved to London’s Capital hotel under Michelin-starred head chef Phillip Britten and was working as chef de partie at Pierre Koffmann’s La Tante Claire in London when the restaurant won its third Michelin star.
In 1993, Tom Aikens became sous chef at Pied à Terre in London. After working at the three Michelin-starred Joel Robuchon in Paris and Gerard Boyer’s Les Grayeres in Reims, he returned to run Pied à Terre in 1996, where he held onto the two Michelin stars earned by his predecessor, Richard Neat.
He left under a cloud in 1999 for an incident involving a burning hot palette knife, spending eight months as head chef at La Tante Claire before working as a private chef for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lord and Lady Bamford. He opened Tom Aikens in London’s Elystan Street, in April 2003 in partnership with his then wife, Laura.
Aikens picked up three awards for the restaurant in 2003 and then an astonishing 18 accolades in 2004. The restaurant won a Michelin star in January, four AA rosettes, an 8/10 grading in the Good Food Guide, and three stars in the Egon Ronay’s revived restaurant guide for 2005.
Aikens also racked up numerous “best restaurant”, “best newcomer” and “excellence” awards from the likes of the Good Food Guide, Harpers and Moët, the Craft Guild of Chefs, Hardens/Remy, and Decanter/Laurent-Perrier – including the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Catey Best Newcomer of the Year.
In November 2006, Aikens expanded for the first time, opening Tom’s Kitchen in Chelsea’s Cale Street, with highly regarded French chef Ollie Couillaud recruited to head up the kitchen. It proved an immediate success and Aikens made plans to open a second Tom’s Kitchen by 2010, but scrapped this in 2008 due to the recession.
Aikens’ third venture was an eco-friendly fish and chip shop, also in Cale Street, which opened in February 2008. He was forced to close the doors after a dispute with the local authority over the smell created by waste from the kitchen.
Aikens was mired in further controversy in October 2008 when his restaurant business went through a “pre-pack” administration, meaning it could continue to trade, but leaving suppliers out of pocket by an estimated £1m.
News
Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens introduces BYO alcohol policy
Campaigners ask restaurateurs to fight for fish
Smell from Tom Aikens's fish restaurant angers neighbours
Tom Aikens forced to close fish and chip restaurant
Tom Aikens' restaurant closure reinforces problems with local authorities
Michelin names four ‘rising stars’
Gordon Ramsay and Tom Aikens back campaign to support British pig industry
Raymond Blanc and Tom Aikens join forces with Greenpeace
Ollie Couillaud teams up with Tom Aikens
Openings: Tom’s Kitchen
Openings: Tom’s Place
Tom Aikens in administration
Tom Aikens seeks new investors as bookings fall
Michelin-starred Tom Aikens loses control of his restaurant business
Suppliers to chef Tom Aikens seeking thousands of pounds
Tom Aikens ‘humiliated’ by suppliers’ £1m losses
Tom Aikens insists he has support from suppliers
In-depth
Celebrity chefs - fame and misfortune
Pre-pack administration in the spotlight
Chef conference: An interview with Tom and Rob Aikens
Aikens returns
Video
Video interview with Tom Aikens on his new eco-friendly restaurant